News you need to know

From the upgrade/downgrade report (Mon Dec 17): McGuire was bottled up for a good portion of the game against the Texans, but he still scored and added value as a receiver. He'll be a low-end RB2/Flex against the Packers this week.

Recent Stats and Projections

Weekly Performance vs RB 1, RB 12, RB 24, RB 36

Percentile ranks

Elijah McGuire's percentile rank in each category, among RB with more than 50 fantasy points.

Recent Game Summaries

2018 Week 14 vs BUF (17 / 60 / 1 rush, 4 / 3 / 23 / 0 rec)

With Isaiah Crowell forced out of the game with a foot injury, McGuire got the bulk of carries. It was an uneven effort, with McGuire showing some skill, but overall struggling to have success on a carry to carry basis. Without a doubt folks will point to McGuire's game winning touchdown as the high point of his game, and of course it was critical. McGuire did show some tremendous patience as he waited for the hole to open up and then nice burst to zoom through it. The more impressive effort for the day, however, was a 34-yard run near the close of the third quarter. The jets had just converted a first down, but were on their own 26-yard line. McGuire took the handoff from quarterback Sam Darnold, and found a nice seam in the A gap, breaking through the one-hole and moving through the line of scrimmage untouched. He then showed some nice speed as he got to the second level, stiff-armed a defender at the 45 yard line, and then danced along the sideline for several extra yards. While the consistency wasn't quite there, and the sometimes slipshod efforts of the offensive line made his job harder, McGuire showed some upside against the Bills on Sunday.

2018 Week 13 vs TEN (6 / 19 / 0 rush, 2 / 1 / -4 / 0 rec)

For all the talk in preseason that McGuire was someone the coaching staff was high on, the running back has seen very little use since returning from injury, and almost had his touches matched by Trenton Cannon, who actually got a critical carry in relief of Isaiah Crowell instead of McGuire. When McGuire did get on the field, he was the least efficient of the Jets running backs with just 3.2 yards per carry compared to 4.7 buy Crowell and 4.5 by Cannon. Some of that is the result of the playcalling, which is so short-field focus that the defense can play close to the line, and some of it is due to lackluster offensive line play. Still, it's clear that some of it is McGuire, who seems a bit slow to the hole when it is there and is not having as much success moving the pile when he receives contact. McGuire had one reception for a loss, which was the result of an obvious playcall the Titans read and were on top of before McGuire could do much.

2018 Week 12 vs NE (6 / 19 / 0 rush, 3 / 1 / 7 / 0 rec)

While McGuire looked like the better back on the roster before the bye, he didn't do much with minimal carries after it. The Jets chose to throw the ball 45 times, which left little time for running plays, and on Sunday Isaiah Crowell was more effective as well as more effective receiving. On the other hand, McGuire was on the field for nine more offensive snaps than Crowell. McGuire has upside, but the Jets gameplan didn't give either back much space to succeed.

2018 Week 10 vs BUF (6 / 30 / 0 rush, 6 / 3 / 27 / 0 rec)

While the box score isn't sexy, McGuire has looked much better than anyone else in the backfield. That was true this past Sunday as well, though he lost out on a touchdown with Isaiah Crowell taking the short yardage plunge. Still, he showed some decent speed, vision and even some toughness on his handful of runs and did a nice job catching the ball as well.

2018 Week 9 vs MIA (7 / 30 / 0 rush, 5 / 3 / 37 / 0 rec)

It was McGuire's first day back in action after a preseason injury, but given the way things went he would probably rather be back on the PUP list. McGuire did seem to have a little more success running the ball than Isaiah Crowell did, and he was much more involved in the pass game. He showed some elusiveness in space, with a sharp 20-yard catch and run near the end of the first half, helping to set the Jets up for a field goal.

Latest News

Our View: McGuire was competent, but not much more. His team pushed him into the end zone for his one score. He'll be a flex play against the Packers next week.link to story

Jets | Elijah McGuire should play in Week 15 (Thu Dec 13, 05:59 PM) - New York Jets RB Elijah McGuire (ankle) fully participated in practice Thursday, Dec. 13, and is not on the injury report for Week 15.

Our View: McGuire should be the lead back for the Jets on Saturday with Isaiah Crowell banged up. It's a tough matchup against the Texans run defense, but McGuire has enough ability as a receiving back to have RB2/flex appeal for Fantasy GMs in Week 15. link to story

Our View: Isaiah Crowell is banged up right now with a foot injury. If he doesn't play against the Texans on Saturday, the team would turn to McGuire as the starter...if he's healthy. Trenton Cannon is the backup behind McGuire. Check back to see if he can practice later in the week. link to story

Jets | Elijah McGuire reaches end zone (Sun Dec 9, 05:30 PM) - New York Jets RB Elijah McGuire rushed for 60 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries against the Buffalo Bills in Week 14. He also caught three passes for 23 yards during the game.

Our View: McGuire relieved an injured Isaiah Crowell and was able to put together a solid game despite being stopped for short or no gain on most of his runs. He'll be a what the heck flex against the Jets next week if Crowell can't go.link to story